Chapter 77: Wooden Dice Game (1)
Noisy footsteps are heard on the deck.
“Come out, you wenches!”
The fierce-looking water bandits dragged the courtesans who were in the cabin outside.
A few of them flared their nostrils toward the courtesans.
“Kya, how long has it been since I smelled face powder?”
“Hey. Are we going straight to the mountain fortress?”
“Before that, can’t we play for a bit?”
At that time, one water bandit stepped forward.
“Do not talk nonsense and take them to the mountain fortress. There was an order from Thousand-Head Sul to treat the courtesans politely.”
“Aw…… once we go up there, everyone will play dirty anyway. What difference does it make if we start now?”
“Shut up. You bastards just need to follow the chief’s orders.”
“Tsk. I joined because they said we could act as we pleased in the Yangtze River Water Bandit Union. Why are there so many things we are forbidden to do?”
Soon, one water bandit giggled and groped Chui’s buttocks.
“Then it should be fine to fondle like this, right? Just this one young wench……”
But he could not finish his words.
Slice-
Because the water bandit who warned first drew his sword and cut his neck.
“Thousand-Head Sul ordered. Treat the courtesans politely.”
“…….”
“Anyone who wants to disobey, do it now.”
At the sharp words of the Ten-Head, the other water bandits silently cast their eyes down.
Eventually, the Ten-Head sheathed his drawn sword and clicked his tongue.
“A bunch of random riffraff came in from the outside, and the hierarchy has completely gone to dogs.”
He turned back to Chui and spoke.
“I apologize on behalf of my subordinate’s rudeness. Unlike his appearance, our chief is not someone who treats women carelessly. All of you will be able to return safely.”
At the Ten-Head’s words, a murmur arose among the courtesans.
It was natural, since they saw blood as soon as they arrived.
But the two courtesans among them were extraordinarily calm.
The taller courtesan and the smaller courtesan.
The two walked up the mountain path without even blinking an eye, even though a person had died in front of them.
The Ten-Head who guided them admired, looking at them.
‘The wenches have good guts. If they had been born in a good place, they would have become heroic women instead of courtesans. How pitiful.’
* * *
Inside the mountain fortress. In the hideout prepared in a large cave, noisy cheers erupted continuously.
“Kyaah! It is five, five, ten! Then it is right for me to throw once more, right?”
“Ah! I got three! I am ruined!”
“Hey! You at least went three spaces! I got two!”
“Fool! If it is two, it means two of the same one, so you throw once more! Two is rather better than three!”
The courtesans from other brothels who arrived first huddled their heads together and chattered continuously.
Among them, a wooden board large and wide enough for a dozen adult men to stand on was spread out.
Wooden Dice Game.
A type of Yutnori played by throwing two wooden dice called Wooden Dice, and the rules vary in diverse ways by region.
This Wooden Dice Game is a rule where two pieces run on a five-colored board consisting of yellow, blue, white, red, and black, which has three hundred and twenty-four spaces, and the one whose single piece arrives at the finish line first wins.
The core was to move the pieces by the sum of the numbers resulting from throwing two dice, and if the same number came out, one could throw once more.
“Roll the dice well, honey. Who knows? Maybe twelve will come out consecutively.”
At the highest seat of the wooden dice board sat a man.
Slender eyebrows.
The corners of his eyes stretched long like a fox’s and then drooped languidly.
A tear mark dotted right below it.
Every time his slender jawline and graceful neckline, like a woman’s, moved slightly, honey dripped from the eyes of the courtesans.
Dog Butcher Gyeon Sul.
He was the Thousand-Head leading the fifteen hundred water bandits of this mountain peak.
“Ah, my goodness. I got three.”
Dog Butcher held his face with his hand and lamented.
“Since the same number must come out of two dice to throw once more, three is practically the lowest score.”
“Hohoho- Thousand-Head Sul has no luck.”
“No luck. Rather, I have good luck. Since a beauty like my honey is pouring liquor beside me~”
He giggled, embracing the courtesan next to him.
On the back of Dog Butcher’s hand pulling the woman’s waist, there was a scar that looked as if it had been pierced and then healed.
Right at that moment.
“Chief. Excuse me for a moment while you are enjoying.”
A Hundred-Head squeezed between the courtesans and bowed his head.
“A messenger has arrived outside.”
“Messenger? Where did he come from?”
“Tiger Fortress.”
“…….”
Receiving the Hundred-Head’s report, Dog Butcher’s expression grimaced.
“Damn it, it completely ruins my mood. It seems that eyesore sent something again.”
“What shall we do? Shall we kill him?”
“Are you crazy? Why are you so extreme? Do you want to start a war?”
“We can go out to the battlefield and die anytime for the chief…….”
“Ah, fine. It is really burdensome. Just tell him to enter for now.”
Dog Butcher waved his hand.
Eventually, a man entered between the Hundred-Heads.
A man with a large build and bulging eyes.
He introduced himself as a Hundred-Head of the Tiger Fortress.
“Ahem! I have come to this place in the capacity of representing Tiger Fortress by the order of Tiger Thousand-Head.”
His words are quite short.
The Hundred-Heads of the Dog Fortress glared fiercely.
It was not a little bothersome that a mere Hundred-Head rank was implicitly matching himself with a Thousand-Head rank.
But Dog Butcher did not seem to mind much.
“Yes, yes. Why did you come?”
“From now on, I will recite the contents of the letter sent by Tiger Thousand-Head. Wash your ears and listen carefully with a reverent heart!”
Eventually, the messenger unfolded the letter and read its contents.
“Dear Junior Brother Sul. It is regrettable that I cannot see your face directly due to the long distance and can only convey my intentions through a letter like this. Please understand.”
“You piece of trash. If you see my face directly, you will be extremely scared? So listen well when I speak through a letter.”
“……?”
“Ah, do not mind. I am just interpreting the contents of the letter in my own way. Make yourself comfortable. Comfortable~”
Dog Butcher smiled and waved his hand.
The messenger from Tiger Fortress read the letter continuously with a bitter expression.
“It has been quite a long time since we, our senior and junior brothers, saw each other’s faces, right? We have been very distant during that time. Even while writing a letter like this, thinking of Junior Brother Sul brings back old memories and is very good. There are many missed memories.”
“We usually don’t have a very good relationship. Since there is not much to say, I will get to the point slowly.”
“Oh, Junior Brother Sul. While writing the letter, it suddenly came to mind.”
“In fact, I wrote the letter to say this. You son of a bitch.”
“It is none other than this. Master is very ill these days. Therefore, to comfort master, how about all of us, senior and junior brothers, gather after a long time and have a Gyeokgu match once?”
“I have already disposed of the old master. Now I intend to gather the troublesome disciples together and kill them all.”
“I hope we gather once to promote friendship after a long time, ask about each other’s well-being, and pay respects to master. I send a letter like this to ask your intention of participating.”
“Make sure to come. If you do not come, I will kill you. Of course, I will kill you even if you come.”
While the messenger read the contents of the letter, Dog Butcher continuously laid out strange interpretations with a peculiar mouth shape.
Unable to contain himself, the messenger flew into a rage.
“What absurd remarks! Disposed of! Kill all! How can you make such slander!”
“If not, then whatever. Why are you getting angry?”
“Since Thousand-Head Sul openly insults Tiger Thousand-Head like this, how can I not be angry!?”
“I get it, I get it. I am sorry. Do not be angry. I apologize. I also have no intention of fighting with Senior Brother In.”
When Dog Butcher spoke to this extent, the messenger’s anger also subsided a bit.
Eventually, the messenger spoke.
“Then it is time to hear the answer. Will you respond to Tiger Thousand-Head’s invitation? Of course, I believe you will respond.”
“Nope, I am not going.”
“……?”
The messenger rubbed his ears, thinking he had heard wrong.
But Dog Butcher was still smiling brightly.
“Why tell me to come and go for no reason when I am staying quietly in the mountain fortress. Even if he is senior brother, this is not it.”
“W-What insolence! How can you to senior brother!”
“I am originally an rebel, so I don’t go even if master calls. Let alone a mere senior brother, how can he tell me to come and go? Also, what? A Gyeokgu match? Don’t you know I hate strenuous exercise?”
It is openly mocking.
The messenger’s face began to turn red and blue.
“I am a person who came to this place representing Tiger Thousand-Head! I hope you refrain from rudeness!”
“Rudeness. Mmm- I am treating you quite well even now.”
Dog Butcher smiled and stood up from the chair.
And soon, he began to walk down the stone steps.
Step-
Every time Dog Butcher took a step.
Step- step-
The surrounding air began to grow heavy.
Step- step- step-
When Dog Butcher stood in front of him, the messenger felt a stuffiness and pain as if his internal organs were tightly bound by a straw rope.
“D-Do not do this…… I am Tiger Thousand-Head’s envoy…….”
“I know, honey~ That is why I am doing this.”
Dog Butcher was still smiling brightly.
He reached out and tapped the messenger’s cheek.
“If it had been the envoy of Senior Brother Zi or Senior Brother Chou, I could not have done this.”
“…….”
“But for the envoy of Tiger Butcher, that bastard, it seems fine to act like this.”
At those words, the messenger gritted his teeth and gasped.
“A-Are you trying to commit mutiny now!? How can a dog covet the tiger’s place!”
“Then is it not mutiny for a tiger to covet the place of an ox and a rat? Why does the third guy, not the first or second, host the place for master? A Gyeokgu match? What kind of child’s play is this again. Even the youngest wench who went outside the mountain fortress without knowing the world would know that the Tiger Butcher is aiming for master’s position.”
“I-Is this the official answer of the Dog Fortress!? I, I, I have no choice but to return like this and report exactly as it is! What happened here! What Thousand-Head Sul said!”
“Go ahead. If you can, that is.”
“……!?”
The messenger turned back.
He saw the Hundred-Heads of the Dog Fortress blocking the exit before he knew it.
“K-K-Killing an envoy is mutiny…… no, rebellion! How can you do this?”
“Mmm. That is true. One should not kill a guy who came as an envoy.”
Dog Butcher stroked his chin and pondered.
“But I really want to kill you.”
“Hieek!”
“But they say it is not right to kill an envoy…… man, this is indeed a dilemma.”
A madman with clear eyes.
Looking at Dog Butcher’s gaze, that saying comes to mind.
The messenger began to shiver.
Because he realized that Dog Butcher’s words were sincere, and his head could fall or remain attached depending on this bright worry he was making.
Just then, Dog Butcher spoke as if a good idea had occurred to him.
“Aha! Yes. It will work if we do this.”
“……?”
The messenger opened his tightly closed eyes.
Before him, Dog Butcher’s palm was spread out.
Two Wooden Dice dice are visible on the palm.
A wooden dice written from 1 to 6.
Seeing that, the messenger’s expression turned blank.
Dog Butcher spoke.
“If you beat me at the wooden dice game, I will follow that bastard Tiger Butcher’s words.”
“T-Then if I lose……?”
“You die, of course.”
Dog Butcher smiled as if asking something obvious.
Eventually, Dog Butcher turned back to the courtesans on the stone steps and spoke.
“Now. Let’s all play together. Wooden Dice Game is fun when played by many.”
As it happened, the group of courtesans who newly entered the mountain fortress joined the Wooden Dice Game, and the board grew larger.
The expressions of the courtesans were complex and subtle.
It was natural, since they were suddenly dragged into a gambling board where human lives were at stake.
Moreover, because a war could break out between mountain fortresses due to this single game, the atmosphere was even more serious.
Even the expressions of the Hundred-Heads watching the Wooden Dice Game were frozen stiff, so how could the courtesans help but make crying faces.
However.
Whether they were stupid and could not read the atmosphere, or they just originally had no expressions, there were those whose complexions did not change at all even in the midst of this.
“…….”
“…….”
The drifters squeezed between the courtesan gang of Dusk Sentiments Pavilion.
They were two day-laborer courtesans whom no one knew.
Unrivaled Spear Ghost